The sun was setting as a giant fire dragon, with two wayward individuals on its back, descended from the sky onto the streets of the peaceful town of Pallet.
As he dismounted, Red took a minute to look around at the town he once called home and took a deep breath "After all these years….I'm finally back!" He thought as he watched his new companion dismount as well.
"Hey!" He called out to Leaf, who currently had her head between her legs "You okay over there Ms. Great Thief?"
Leaf narrowed her eyes as she looked up at him "That's….Great….Shadow….Thief and don't you forget it!" She panted as she tried to catch her breath "And yeah! Just never flew that fast before!"
Red laughed as he patted her shoulder "Don't worry you'll get used to it!" He reassured her and pointed towards a large building not far away "Come on! I need to stop by Professor Oaks lab first, he has information crucial to my mission and once we do that, we can relax."
However, just as Red began to walk over to the lab, he was forcefully stopped "Wait Red! I-I don't think it would be a great idea if I went in with you…." Leaf said as she grabbed his shoulder.
Red looked puzzled "Why not?" He asked "Granted…I know Oak can be a bit eccentric at times, but still…."
Leaf looked away and started twiddling her fingers "I mighta…sorta…kinda…stole from here once before…."
"Oh…." Red muttered as he stressfully rubbed his temple "Well….did anyone see you when did?"
"DID ANYONE SEE M-" Leaf stopped mid-sentence and put her hands on her hips "I don't call myself the Great SHADOW Thief because I allow people to see me! I always operate under the cover of darkness!"
"GOOD!" Red stated as he grabbed her wrist "That means nobody saw you and you're coming in with me!"
"Hey! NO! That's not what I meant!" Leaf yelled as Red pulled her into the lab with him.
The lab definitely looked more high tech then Red remembered it. Then again, there had been many technological advancements and discoveries since he was here last. And low and behold, at the end of the hall stood Professor Oak, white lab coat and all.
To Red, Professor Oak was almost like a second father to him and he was ecstatic when he saw him again.
"Professor!" Red called out as he ran towards the old man and shook his hand "It's so good to see you again!"
"Red!" The professor greeted and shook his hand back "I thought my aide said you were walking to Pallet and wouldn't be here for a while."
Red nervously scratched the back of his head "Well…I was…but…there's been a change of plans." He then stepped aside to reveal his new partner "Leaf, this is Professor Samuel Oak, head of pokemon research here in Kanto!"
"Yes…but everyone around here calls me the pokemon professor!" Professor Oak noted as he walked towards Leaf and extended his hand "It's nice to meet you young lady!"
As he walked closer, Leaf's eyes viciously darted from side to side as she did her best to act casual "Umm hi….it's nice to meet you too." She shyly replied and extended her hand as well.
As they shook hands, Professor Oak tilted his head in thought "It's strange…I swear I've heard the name Leaf befo-"
"Well it's a really popular name!" Leaf immediately chimed in, trying to change the subject "After all, all the trees are full of them!"
Everyone in the facility laughed at her joke, except Red, who face palmed and slowly walked up to her "See they don't know who you are!" He whispered in her ear as he passed by.
"Anyway, Professor I believe you want this!" Red said as he pulled a square device from his pocket and handed it to him "I've recorded data on all the pokemon from the all the different regions, I just need a few more to finish it and you know the ones I'm looking for right?"
Oak nodded "The mystic birds right?"
Leafs eyes widened as she heard what Professor Oak said "The mystic birds?" She yelled, turning to Red in awe.
"That's right!" Red replied as he looked back at her "You know them?"
"Well, I know of them…." Leaf said as she started to count on her fingers "Articuno, Zapdos and Moltres! But I thought they were….well as the name implies….a legend….a fairy tale….."
"No my dear…." Oak reassured her "They do indeed exist and-"
"And I would have caught them too if I didn't get so distracted last time!" Red noted as he tilted his hat over his eyes.
"Now Red, there's no need to eat yourself up about that." Oak tried to console him, but Red narrowed his eyes as his frustration grew.
"If I wasn't so focused on winning the league my first time, I would have caught them before they disappeared from this region!" He belittled himself "Then, after traveling through various regions, I finally discovered they were in Kalos, but the temptation of winning another league made me miss my chance again!"
Oak shook his head "Red, it's alright you've done a phenomenal job filling out the pokedex." He exclaimed, trying to calm the boy down "And don't worry, you'll find the mystic birds this time for sure!"
Red lowered his head again "Yeah, but it could have been done already and then…..I could finally put….it….to rest…"
"Red…." Oak whispered as he placed a hand on his shoulder "Your mother's proud of you, no matter what the outcome and you know it…."
Upon hearing that, Red slowly nodded and the professor handed him some papers "Here, these are the locations that the birds have been spotted in recently and don't worry this is their home turf, they won't be going anywhere anytime soon!"
Red smiled "Thank you!" He said as he looked over the papers "For everything….."
"No I should be thanking you! It's the least I could do for all the help you've been with the pokedex." Oak replied and then turned to Leaf "As for you young lady…..I assume Red's going to show you how to become a pokemon trainer."
"Umm..N-no!' Leaf hesitantly replied "Red invited me to travel with him; I have no intentions of becoming a trainer."
"I see…. well…regardless, you shouldn't travel without a pokemon partner." Oak noted as he motioned to the table behind him "Here! Feel free to choose one of these starter pokemon I have here and-"
"I already have an inseparable partner, thank you very much!" Leaf sternly retorted "And if I ever do plan on getting another pokemon, I plan to catch it, not have it given to me!"
Oak was a bit shocked at her tone. "Fair…enough…" He slowly replied, no one had ever refused to take a pokemon from him before "Well…I wish you two the best of luck on your journey!"
Red curiously raised his eyebrows at Leaf before waving goodbye to Professor Oak "Take care professor! We won't let you down!" He said as they walked away.
Upon walking outside, Red watched as jigglypuff happily jumped into Leafs arms "Jigglypuff's really special to you, isn't it Leaf?" He noted as he watched the two hug one another.
"Yeah…." Leaf replied as she looked down at her pink partner "Jigglypuff and I have been through a lot together…..more than you can imagine….."
Jigglypuff looked up at Leaf and smiled "Jiggly…." It said as it listened to her continue.
"We've had some hard times…." Leaf noted "But we've always stayed true to each other!"
"Yeah…" Red muttered as he looked over at his pikachu "I know what that's like believe me…."
The two stood in silence for a few minutes before Red spoke up "It's getting late…" He said as he watched the sun set "We should head over to my house, it's not far."
"Okay!" Leaf excitedly said as she placed jigglypuff on her shoulder "I wonder what kind of house this EX-champion has!" She mischievously thought to herself as they headed towards the outskirts of Pallet.
After a good couple minutes of walking, Red finally stopped in front of a small, white, 2-storey house. "Well here we are!" He announced as he opened the door to reveal a quaint little living space.
"It's not much…." He explained as he put his coat down "There's a living room, kitchen and upstairs there are 2 bedrooms and a bathroom."
Leaf looked around the house in awe "You know, for a house you haven't lived in in years, it's really well kept." She stated as she walked around.
Red chuckled "Well, I have a friend that I pay to keep it looking nice!" He explained to her "….even if said friend doesn't want to."
"Must be a really good friend!" Leaf noted as Red continued to show her around.
He then lead Leaf upstairs and opened the doors to one of the bedrooms "Here, you and jigglypuff can have this room."
Leaf was speechless at the sight before her; the bed looked so comfortable "Umm…thank you…" She said as Red turned around and walked back downstairs.
"Where are you going?"
"I'm going to head to the market to get some food." Red said as he put his coat back on "Feel to get settled in!"
"Alright take your time!" Leaf waved to him and he walked out the door.
The sun was still setting as Red made his way through Pallet town. "I wonder what I should make for us tonight?" He thought made his way down the road.
He was about half way to the market when he suddenly stopped and slapped his head "How stupid am I? I just left a thief alone in my house!"
As soon as Red left, Leaf decided there would be no better time to check the place out "Ok, let's see what kind of goods this champion's got on him!" She thought as she went into full thief mode.
She then assumed a crouching position and tip-toed from room to room checking out dressers and drawers until she finally thought to herself "Alright Leaf….why are you doing this? A) No one's here and B) Your living here now so there's no point in stealing anything!" She then froze in place as the thought sunk in "…living here….."
Leaf then placed her hands on her head "Argh! This is so bizarre for me!" She thought as she shook her head "I can't afford to get used to this place! Why does he care?! He's probably just going to have his way with me and throw me out once this blackmail ordeal's over anyway!"
Leaf then looked up at the mirror on the dresser and saw that her hair was now a complete mess from shaking it too much "Oh great…." She mumbled as she tried to fix it "Why do I even care what I look like? I'm not trying to impress him!"
After fixing herself up, Leaf decided it would be best to finish checking out the other rooms in the house "Ok!" Leaf excitedly thought as she turned the handle on the door next to her room"Let's see what's behind door number 3 and…HELLO SHOWER!"
About 20 minutes later Red finally returned with groceries in hand.
"Well that's cute!" He thought as he walked into the living room"Both pikachu and jigglypuff are both asleep on the couch…and Leaf…." He trailed off as he looked around "….is nowhere to be found…great….."
Red then brought the groceries into the kitchen "Hey Leaf! Where are you?!" He called out as he began to unload everything.
"I'm upstairs Red!" A voice called back "I'll be right down!"
Within a few minutes, down the stairs descended Leaf, looking a lot wetter then he saw her last.
"What were you doing?"
Leaf pointed to her wet hair "What does it look like genius? I was using your shower!" She sarcastically replied.
Red shook his head "Why didn't you dry yourself off before putting your clothes back on?" He asked as he stared at her and Leaf noticed it.
"H-hey! Don't stare at me like that!" She yelled as a blush formed on her face "H-how else am I supposed to dry myself off?!"
Red raised his eyebrows at her "Leaf….you do know I have towels in the cupboard right?"
Leaf put her hand on her mouth in shock "Oh my god really?!" She yelled and immediately ran back up the stairs "I'll be right back!"
Red couldn't help but laugh at her misfortune and continued setting the table.
A few minutes later, Leaf came running back down the stairs "Ok, it's all dry now so you can stop wor-" Her words were cut off by the shock of the amount of food she saw in front of her "Oh my god…."
"Here…" Red said as he motioned to the table "I prepared this for you."
Leaf quivered as she slowly sat down in her chair and overlooked the enormous feast before her "I…I….couldn't even eat a loaf of bread earlier today and now…"
Red watched as she slowly reached out to grab some food, only to drop her hand on the table and sadly look down at her feet "What's wrong? Aren't you hungry?" He asked out of concern.
Leafs voice shook "Believe me…I am hungry….so hungry…." She muttered as she continued to look down at the floor "It's just…..I've never been presented with this much food before and….I don't know even where to start…..it all looks so good…."
She then looked up as she felt Reds hand on her shoulder "Well let's take it one step at a time! What do you want the most?" He sweetly asked her.
"Honestly..." Leaf whispered as she looked over the spread before her "After what happened to me today, I'd really like some bread…."
Red then grabbed a slice of the fresh loaf he brought and cut her a piece "Sure! Enjoy it!"
Leaf graciously accepted the piece of bread from Reds hand and her mouth began salivating as she bit into it "Oh my god …." She stated as she savored every bite. For Leaf, it had been so long since she had a proper meal and her eyes watered as she finished the piece of bread "That was so good Red…."
"I'm glad you liked it!" Red said as he knelt down to her level and smiled at her "Now…what would you like next?"
After a few hours Red and Leaf finally finished their meal and as Red was cleaning up, Leaf decided to pipe up "Hey Red, I was wondering…that picture in my room….is that your mom?"
Upon hearing that, Red stopped washing the dishes and looked up "Yeah….that room was hers..a long time ago…"
"Oh…so she's…"
Red nodded "Passed on, yes." He said as he sadly looked down at the floor.
Leaf looked down as well "I see….sorry to bring it up…"
"It's ok…" Red whispered as he finished putting the dishes away "It was a long time ago…"
Before Leaf could inquire any further, the clock started to chime 9 bells.
"It's pretty late…" Red noted as he looked over at the clock "You should get some rest, we have a big day ahead of us tomorrow."
Leaf smiled "Alright Red, I'll see you tomorrow!" She said before nervously rubbing the back of her head "Umm….thank you for the meal….and giving me a place to sleep…."
Red chuckled "Anything for my new traveling companion!" He stated and smiled back "See you tomorrow!"
"Right…..traveling companion….that's all I am…." Leaf sadly thought as she made her way upstairs.
A Few Hours Later…..
Truth be told, despite the bed being a lot more comfortable than anything she had slept on in years, Leaf was not ok. For hours she tossed and turned, but just couldn't fall asleep.
"It's no use! I'm just not used to sleeping in a bed like this!"
She turned and looked at the clock to find it was only midnight "That does it! I need to get up and move around or I'll never fall asleep." She finally decided for herself.
As she made her way downstairs she saw that the light on the porch was still on and went to investigate. Upon further investigation, Leaf saw that Red was still up and standing outside on the porch all alone.
"Hey, can't you sleep?" He suddenly called out to her, making her jump in surprise.
"N-no, can't you?" She asked him, but he didn't turn around.
Leaf took a deep breath as she stepped outside "After all these years of sleeping on the streets, sleeping on a bed feels so foreign to me…." She said as she leaned up against the porch right beside him "Are you still thinking about your mom?"
Red nodded "I thought all the years of me being away from this place would make me forget about her…." He noted as he crossed his arms and put his head down "But even right now it feels like she'll be coming home any minute now to say goodnight to me…."
Red then proceeded to stretch out and looked at the sky "See…when I was little my father went missing while on a pokemon journey and mom and I were left alone. Not long after she came down with an illness that was said to be incurable."
Leaf sadly looked over at him "Incurable?!"
Red nodded "Yes.. ..she fought it for many years until one day….she just couldn't fight it anymore. I still remember her last words to me were that it would make her proud to see me become a pokemon trainer and finally complete the pokedex…..to do what my father couldn't…."
"And that's why you're so adamant on completing the pokedex huh?" Leaf whispered to him.
Red sighed deeply "I have to Leaf; it's the only way to finally put it all behind me…" He admitted as he returned his gaze to the sky "Going to different regions, meeting new people, competing in leagues, winning championships; yeah it was all for the experiences…"
Leaf watched as Red started to tear up "But to be completely honest with you, I think…more so than anything, it was so I could put the past behind me."
"…and that's why you keep adventuring huh?"
Red slowly nodded and looked over as he felt Leafs hand rub his shoulder
"Hey, at least you have parents to mourn…." She whispered to him and looked into the sky as well "All I ever known….my whole life….was the streets and the only true friend I ever had was jigglypuff….."
"I can't imagine how hard that was…."
Leaf shrugged "I did what I had to in order to live…." She admitted and looked over at Red "So don't worry Red, everything going to be okay….I promise."
Red watched as a sweet smile formed on her face and he panicked as he felt his face going flush "Y-yeah…you're right Leaf." He said, wiping the tears from his eyes.
Upon regaining his composure, Reds eyes widened as a thought popped in his head "That reminds me Leaf!" He said as he quickly ran back into the house "There are some items I wanted to give you before we left tomorrow!"
Red then came running back out with a bunch of items in his arms and presented Leaf with a strange cylindrical device "This is a PokeNav, it goes on your arm; it has a phone, map, radio, everything you need on it!" Red explained as he pointed out the various features "If we ever get separated you can just call me and I'll come find you with this!"
Leaf looked puzzled "Umm you'll have to show me how it works, I'm not too good with technology." She admitted.
Red then presented Leaf with a bag "And here are some pokeballs….you know…..just in case you ever wanna…."
Leaf took the bag but protested "Red I told you before; I don't want to be a trainer!"
"I know! I know!" Red replied and scratched the back of his head "But…you never know…."
Leaf sighed "Well…we'll see…" She said and started yawning "Come Red...it's really late, we should get some rest."
Red nodded as he started yawning as well "Yeah, we've got a lot of traveling to do tomorrow!" He stated as they walked back inside.
Upon making it to his room, Red turned around "Good night Leaf…." He said to her and shut his door behind him.
"
Goodnight….Red." Leaf responded as she did the same and this time she actually fell asleep.
NEXT CHAPTER WILL HAVE THE ENTRY OF OUR EX-EX CHAMPION BLUE/GREEN(IN Japanese)OAK.
Enjoy.